Media content device, system and method

ABSTRACT

Access is provided for different types of media content provided by disparate publishers, and in formats corresponding to operating characteristics of respective user devices. As consistent with one or more example embodiments herein, media content access is filtered for users requesting access via different user devices, based upon characteristics of the device to which the access is provided, user subscription data and publisher-specific criteria. A user-specific storefront interface is generated for each of a multitude of users, based upon the filtering. Each storefront interface indicates media content that can be displayed at the device to which access is requested, and identifies media content to which the user does and does not have subscription access. The user-specific storefront interfaces are presented at respective user devices, and media content is delivered to each device in response to selections made via the user-specific storefront interfaces.

RELATED PATENT DOCUMENTS

This patent document claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/487,111 filed on May 17,2011; this patent document is also a continuation-in-part under 35U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/415,157 (filed onMar. 8, 2012) and Ser. No. 13/439,665 (filed on Apr. 4, 2012); all ofthese documents, including the Appendix filed in the underlyingprovisional application, are fully incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Many media categories, such as music, home video, books, and television,have been substantially impacted by the advent of digital distribution,creating significant growth opportunities for some but painful valueerosion for many others. Typically, we have seen value migrate frommedia incumbents to device makers and global internet players. Now, withthe growth of e-readers and tablets such as the Kindle and the irad,will the magazine and newspaper publishing industry suffer the samefate?

To date, the availability of free content on the internet has dilutedcontent providers' (e.g., publishers) ability to sell print products.That has contributed to print advertising declines, and onlineadvertising has not made up for the loss. Some industry observersforesee a continuing and inevitable slow decline in revenues, based onvalue migration to tech players, similar to the decline in other mediasectors. However, others believe that the industry has a chance to renewsubscription revenue growth through product and business modelinnovation, such as the development of interactive periodicals.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to presenting mediacontent to users, such as via mobile devices, stand-alone computers,mobile computer, televisions and navigation systems.

In connection with various example embodiments, media content pertainsto subscription-type content, as may be associated with one or more of avariety of content sources. Available content types and/or subscriptiontypes are provided to users via an interface, from which content can beaccessed. Various embodiments are directed to the control of contentaccess based upon attributes of one or more of a user attempting toaccess the content, an owner of the content and characteristics of oneor more of a device and system used to access the content. In someimplementations, the content pertains to a digital or print-typemagazine that offers the content to subscribers, who are provided accessas discussed herein.

Other example embodiments are directed to an apparatus for presentingand facilitating access to media content from disparate contentproviders and in disparate formats, at user devices having differentformat type criteria. The apparatus includes a media content formatter,respective filters, a storefront formatting engine and an interfacemodule. The media content formatter formats different types of mediacontent from the disparate content providers into a plurality of commonformat types based upon formatting criteria defined for each of thedisparate content providers. Each common formatting type corresponds tospecific electronic interface characteristics for one of a plurality ofdisparate device types via which the media content is to be presented inone of the common format types. A first one of the filters operates tofilter media content access based upon characteristics of a device towhich the access is provided, a second filter operates to filter mediacontent access based upon stored time-based subscription data for a useridentification associated with a content access request, and a thirdfilter operates to filter media content access based upon accesscriteria specific to each of the disparate content providers for whichthe media content is provided. The storefront formatting enginegenerates and formats a user-specific storefront interface using thefirst, second and third filters, for each of a multitude of users eachhaving a unique one of the user identifications. Each generatedstorefront interface indicates media content that is available foraccess by the user based upon: characteristics of the device via whichthe user is to access the media content, subscription data for the userand criteria set by the respective content providers for the respectivemedia content, the storefront interface identifying media content towhich the user has subscription access and media content to which theuser does not have subscription access. The interface module responds torequests for accessing media content received from a multitude ofdisparate devices, presents data in the request to facilitate thepresentation of a user identification for each user to the secondfilter, and communicates data for presenting the user-specificstorefront interface generated at the formatting engine for eachspecific device and the specific user identification of the user of thedevice. The interface module further facilitates the delivery of storedmedia content to each device via which the user-specific storefrontinterface is provided, based on user-selections made via theuser-specific storefront interface.

Another embodiment is directed to a method for presenting andfacilitating access to media content from disparate content providersand in disparate formats, at user devices having different format typecriteria. Different types of the media content from the disparatecontent providers are formatted into two or more common format types,based upon formatting criteria defined for each of the disparate contentproviders. Each common formatting type corresponds to specificelectronic interface characteristics for one of a plurality of disparatedevice types via which the media content is to be presented in one ofthe common format types. Media content access is filtered based uponcharacteristics of a device to which the access is provided, storedtime-based subscription data for a user identification associated with acontent access request, and access criteria specific to each of thedisparate content providers for which the media content is provided. Foreach of a multitude of users each having a unique one of the useridentifications, a user-specific storefront interface is generated andformatted using the first, second and third filters, each storefrontinterface indicating media content that is available for access by theuser based upon: characteristics of the device via which the user is toaccess the media content and subscription data for the user and criteriaset by the respective content providers for the respective mediacontent. The storefront interface identifies media content to which theuser has subscription access and media content to which the user doesnot have subscription access. In response to requests for accessingmedia content received from a multitude of disparate devices, data inthe request is presented to facilitate the presentation of a useridentification for each user and for filtering the media content accessbased upon the stored time-based subscription data. Data is communicatedfor presenting the user-specific storefront interface generated at theformatting engine for the specific device and the specific useridentification of the user of the device, and stored media content isdelivered to each device from which selections are received via theuser-specific storefront interface provided to the device.

Another embodiment is directed to an apparatus having filtering,storefront interface and communication modules executable to carry outrespective operations and activities for presenting and facilitatingaccess to media content for disparate publishers and in disparateformats, at user devices having different format type criteria. Thefiltering module filters media content access for each user requestingaccess via one of the user devices, based upon characteristics of thedevice to which the access is provided, upon time-based subscriptiondata for a user identification associated with a content access request,and upon criteria specific to each of the disparate publishers on behalfof which the media content is provided. Filter data identifying mediacontent that can be presented at each of the respective user devicesbased on these criterion is provided and used at the storefrontinterface module to generate a user-specific storefront interface foreach of a multitude of users each having a user identification. Eachstorefront interface indicates media content that can be displayed atthe device to which access is requested, and identifies media content towhich the user has subscription access and media content to which theuser does not have subscription access. The communication modulecommunicates data to each user device for presenting the user-specificstorefront interfaces thereat, and responds to user-selections made viathe user-specific storefront interface by facilitating the delivery ofstored media content to the device via which the user-specificstorefront interface is provided.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or everyimplementation of the present invention. The figures and detaileddescription that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments.

FIGURES

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be more completelyunderstood in consideration of the detailed description and inconnection with the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for configuring and providing media content,in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a system for presenting media content for access, andcoordinating the delivery thereof, in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus for effecting catalog, pricing management,storefront, support functionality, payment platform, data warehouse, andproduct catalog functions as may be implemented in accordance with oneor more example embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows an apparatus and system, in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus and approach for effecting interaction betweencomponents at a host system, a payment platform and a publisher, inaccordance with one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows an apparatus and approach for effecting reporting functionsas may be carried out in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments;

FIG. 7 shows an apparatus and approach for effecting entitlementfunctions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 8 shows an apparatus for presentation of a storefront for a readerdevice, in accordance with other example embodiments; and

FIG. 9 shows an apparatus and approach for purchase aspects of contentprovision, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the intention isnot to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments shown and/ordescribed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to media content, delivery andpresentation, as well as circuits, devices and systems as describedherein. While the present disclosure is not necessarily limited, aspectsof the disclosure may be appreciated through a discussion of examplesusing these and other contexts. The following discussion describesvarious exemplary embodiments without limitation to other relatedembodiments and/or subject matter herein.

Various example embodiments are directed to the presentation of astorefront-type system using an interactive circuit via which users arepresented with access to media content, and userselections/subscriptions are used in presenting the content. Userentitlement to media is used to present media to the user, withsubscription and payment information provided and implemented toestablish, add or extend such entitlement.

In connection with other embodiments, access is provided for differenttypes of media content provided by disparate publishers, and in formatscorresponding to operating characteristics of respective user devices.This approach facilitates the communication of electronic informationthat can be used to generate image data corresponding to the mediacontent provided by different publishers (e.g., and often in differentformats from each publisher). These and other aspects are directed toaddressing challenges and problems relating to providing such access inan efficient and responsive manner, and to doing so via a multitude ofdisparate device platforms, such as may be applicable to mobile/portabledevices having different operating platforms and different displaysizes.

In a particular embodiment, access to media content is filtered (e.g.,tailored or restricted) based upon characteristics of devices to whichthe access is to be provided, upon user subscription data, and furtherupon publisher-specific criteria (e.g., specifying devicetypes/characteristics to which the publisher allows content access). Auser-specific storefront interface is generated for each of a multitudeof users, based upon the filtering and available media content (e.g.,from a catalogue of media content available for purchase/access). Eachstorefront interface indicates a subset of the media content that can bedisplayed at the device to which access is requested, and identifiesmedia content to which the user does and does not have subscriptionaccess. In this context, the respective storefronts are tailored foreach user, based upon the user's subscription or entitlement rights tomedia content, characteristics of the device that the user is employingto access the content, and publisher-specific criteria. Certainembodiments involve further tailoring the respective storefronts, suchas to reflect local or remote availability of content to which accesscan be provided, and to offer storage options such as fordeleting/removing data for accessed content, downloading content,subscribing to additional content, and more. Accordingly, theseuser-specific storefront interfaces are presented at respective userdevices to which media content is delivered based on selections made viathe interfaces.

Other embodiments are directed to an apparatus having a plurality ofcircuit-based modules including a content-attribution module, astorefront module and a provisioning module. The content-attributionmodule includes access entitlement data identifying a multitude of useridentification codes, each user identification code being associatedwith a subscribing user and at least one of a plurality of sets of mediacontent to which the user has a subscription. The storefront modulegenerates user-specific interface data for each of a multitude of usersand a multitude of different sets of media content, based upon anassociation of the identification code for that user with one or moresets of media content, and based upon attributes of a mobile device viawhich the user accesses the interface data. The user-specific interfacedata includes data for displaying images identifying media content thatis associated with the identification code and media content that is notassociated with the identification code, in a manner that differentiatesthe media content that is associated with the identification code fromthe media content that is not associated with the identification code.The generated user-specific interface data for each user is communicatedto that user's mobile device in response to a storefront access requestreceived from the mobile device. The provisioning module providescontent for access by a user at a portable device, responsive toselection data transmitted from the mobile device and including at leastan aspect of the generated data communicated to the mobile device by thesecond circuit-based module.

In various embodiments, a host system facilitates cross-titleinteractive media content access, as may be implemented with theabove-discussed approaches, to deliver media content that can bepresented at a variety of different types of display devices. Variousimplementations are directed to the delivery of digital magazine contentthat can be accessed via tablet, smartphones, desktop/laptop computers,TVs and other electronic devices. Digital magazine content can beprovided via subscription, single item purchase and upgrade/discountbundling with other physical goods such as existing print magazinesubscriptions.

In some implementations, dynamic offer management functions are effectedvia cross title usage, interest and sales, to tailor offers to specificusers or specific types of users. Offers may be rotated based on time,recommendation or other external events. Magazines, applications andspecial offers can be delivered through a storefront application typesystem as presented to a user via electronic devices. Sales can be madeas a part of a subscription, bundle or single item using the user'ssystem account.

In various implementations, a personalized storefront and/or mediareader is presented to a user based upon the users login and accountinformation, which identifies the user, and other information (e.g.,tracked history) if available. Personalization can also be carried outto control the manner in which information is provided to a user. Forinstance, if a user reads certain sections or articles of a particularmagazine first on a recurring basis, a reader presented to the user canprovide these sections first, and can further prioritize these sections(e.g., by downloading these sections before others, unless a userspecifically selects another section). Such a download approach may, forexample, involve providing a contents page first to facilitate userreview. Tracking may include, for example, tracking a user's use as wellas history of purchases across all devices linked to the user's account,for tailoring the storefront and display as well as providingadvertising. This tracking can be further saved with subscribing userprofiles, and accessed to present information to a user.

Certain embodiments are directed to a reader application thatcommunicates for displaying user-specific storefront interfaces andaccessing displayed content as discussed herein. In some instances, thereader application includes an application that presents the storefrontinterface. This presentation may involve, for example, displayingcontent available for purchase or to which the user is already entitledto access. In certain implementations, the reader application launchesan out of application presentation of the storefront in a separateprocess, such as by launching a storefront-specific application or a webbrowser application for the storefront. A library user interface view ispresented to display all media content (e.g., issues) the user isentitled to along with a status of the media content such as whether ornot the content is resident on the device or a downloading progress.

In some instances, as purchases are made, an entitlement record iscreated in an entitlement database. An entitlement grants access rightsfor a given user to access a given piece of content. For deliveringmedia content, a download service consults the entitlement database whenhandling download requests from reader applications (e.g., viauser-specific interface data presented thereat). If the user is entitledto a requested piece of content, the address of the content in thecontent store is returned to the user device, which the readerapplication uses to begin downloading the content. The address points toan appropriate rendition of the content based on type of device the useris attempting to perform the download on (e.g., in accordance with afilter with respect to device capabilities and stored data compatibilitytherewith).

Media content such as magazines may be grouped into subject, styleand/or type, to provide recommendations to users based upon thegroupings. A unified magazine reading environment can be provided tofacilitate such grouping.

In some embodiments, media content access is shared among users and/ordevices. For example, excerpts of magazine issues can be selected andprovided for access by others, with the access controlled by the system.This shared-user access can be further provided with various advertisinginformation, such as information for purchasing a magazine from whichcontent was shared.

Sharing, marketing and usage data can be gathered and processed toprovide information and/or services to media content providers and/orother business stakeholders. For example, usage of a particular readercan be used to tailor the type of content, the manner in which contentis provided and/or other characteristics. Similarly, use patterns forparticular media content, such as the manner in which a user reads adigital magazine, can also be used to provide such services.

Cross-platform cross-device sales and content delivery of the magazinesare facilitated as well, to provide user's access to content on variousdevice types. For example, a user may have an entitlement grantinghim/her access to a digital magazine. That user may access the magazineusing different devices, such as a laptop computer and a smart phonetype of handheld device. Each of these devices may operate on differentplatforms. In this context, access is provided to the user, viaofferings tailored to the specific devices and platforms. For example,different types of content may be provided based upon the device type,and capabilities of the device, or as related to the capabilities of thedevice's connectivity to receive content.

Complimentary media and other communications for the media contentbrands offered in the store are also provided, in accordance withvarious embodiments. Different content is delivered to differentcanvasses (e.g., television, tablet, computer), which can be consumed onindividual devices or in multi-screen modes in which complementarycontent and a user interface (UI) can exist. For instance, relatedcontent can be simultaneously provided on a user's tablet and on atelevision that the user is interacting with. Such examples may involve,for example, providing embedded images for display on a television whilea user is reading text on a tablet. Another example involves providinglinked text when other media content, such as audio or video, is beingprovided (e.g., display information regarding music as it is beingplayed, or display information regarding a movie as the movie is beingwatched).

Costs are managed and processed in a variety of manners. In someembodiments, delivery costs such as may pertain to rich content (e.g.,higher bandwidth) are tracked and charged back to one or both of acontent provider and a user. Other content delivery costs, such as thosethat may pertain to management of the delivery, are also tracked andcharged accordingly.

Other embodiments are directed to search functions for searching mediacontent, such as magazine content, to which a user is entitled accessand/or to content that the user is not entitled access (e.g., untilpurchased). For example, a user wishing to read articles about a certaintopic can search for the topic, browse results and choose results toview/read. For search results including articles that the user isentitled to view (via profile/subscription data), access is provided.For search results including articles that the user is not entitled toview, access can be provided using a purchase-type of approach. Thesesearch features can be tailored/limited to the user's entitlement aswell, such as by limiting the search to a particular magazine title ortitles and issue(s), to which the user is entitled to view.

Various other embodiments are directed to a publisher portal system thatprovides system access to publishers making media content available tousers. The publisher portal is configured to provide access to thepublisher for tailoring the display of media content to suit particularneeds, such as to tailor the content for users or groups of users,particular titles, or type of media.

Further aspects of the present disclosure are directed to internet-basedperiodical publishing systems and/or approaches involving display uponcolor, touch-enabled, portable devices that facilitate uniqueuser-specific interaction. Such devices include, for example,application-specific, media-related devices such as digital musicplayers, e-readers, media tablets and touch netbooks. In variousinstances, payment for the periodicals is effected in connection withelectronic communications for the delivery thereof, streamlining theprocess.

Turning now to the Figures, FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 100 forconfiguring and providing media content, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the present invention. The apparatus includes a mediacontent formatter 110 that formats different types of the media contentfrom disparate content providers 120-N into a plurality of common formattypes based upon formatting criteria defined for each of the disparatecontent providers. In some implementations, the content providers arepublishers as shown by way of example. In other implementations, anaggregator provides the content, with the aggregator providing contenton behalf of multiple publishers.

By way of example, separate sets of media content 122 and 126 are shownas respectively being provided from content provider 120 and N indifferent formats, and each set is reformatted into two differentcontent types as reformatted content 123 and 124 from content 122, andreformatted content 127 and 128 from content 126. Reformatted content123 and 127 are of a common format, and reformatted content 124 and 128are of a common format, with each of the respective common formats beingdifferent than the original format of content 122 and 126. Thereformatted content type corresponds to specific electronic interfacecharacteristics for disparate device types via which the media contentis to be presented. The reformatted content is stored in a contentarchive 130, and in some implementations, the original media content isalso stored for use in reformatting to other format types at a differenttime. For example, at least one of text data, image data, audio data andvideo data may be transcoded into a format amenable for processing bythe specific device type. Such formatting or transcoding can beoptimized to each device class to be supported, such as for a laptop,netbook, touchscreen, smartphone, media tablet, any one device, or alldevices, and for one or more different operating platforms implementedat each device.

The system also includes first, second and third filters 140, 142 and144. The first filter 140 filters media content access based uponcharacteristics of a device to which the access is provided. Forinstance, certain devices may simply be incapable of presenting certaintypes of media content, such as embedded video within text-basedcontent. Other devices may have different types of displaycharacteristics, use different platforms (e.g., different audio or videocodecs) or require other formatting that may be unique to the particulardevice or platform type. The first filter accordingly filters contentwith respect to identifying content for user access from a specificdevice according to this criteria and data specifying a content type.

The second filter 142 filters media content access based upon storedtime-based subscription data for a user identification associated with acontent access request. This time-based subscription data may, forexample, pertain to a single item purchase that a user makes via apresented storefront (discussed below), or to a multiple-issuesubscription as may be applicable, for example, to a cyclic subscriptionto a periodical. In this context, time-based subscription data maypertain to such a time schedule pertaining to the cyclic subscription,or to the purchase of access to a single issue that may be accessed overtime (e.g., a user may download a purchased issue or part of the issue,delete it and then download again). In some implementations, the secondfilter 142 accesses external time-based subscription data andsynchronizes stored time-based subscription data with the externaltime-based subscription data.

The third filter 144 filters media content access based upon accesscriteria specific to each of the disparate content providers for whichthe media content is provided. This criteria may, for example, pertainto content provider rules with regard to the placement of advertisingimage data with text (e.g., for instances in which the advertising imageis dynamic relative to a static text page), or otherformatting/arrangement type relationships. Other rules may pertain tosize, such as display size as could be relevant to different types ofdevices via which a user may access the content (e.g., a hand-held phonehaving a 2.5″ display, relative to a tablet type device having a 7″display).

A storefront formatting engine 150 generates and formats a user-specificstorefront interface using the first, second and third filters, for eachof a multitude of users each having a unique one of the useridentifications. Each storefront interface indicates media content thatis available for access by the user based upon: characteristics of thedevice via which the user is to access the media content, subscriptiondata for the user and criteria set by the respective content providersfor the respective media content, the storefront interface identifyingmedia content to which the user has subscription access and mediacontent to which the user does not have subscription access.

An interface module 160 responds to requests for accessing media contentreceived from a multitude of disparate devices by presenting data in therequest to the second filter 142 to facilitate the presentation of auser identification for each user. For each of the multitude ofdisparate devices, the interface module 160 communicates data forpresenting the user-specific storefront interface generated at theformatting engine for the specific device and the specific useridentification of the user of the device. For user-selections made viathe user-specific storefront interface, the interface module 160 furtherfacilitates the delivery of stored media content to the device via whichthe user-specific storefront interface is provided.

In some embodiments, the storefront formatting engine 150 generates andformats each user-specific storefront interface using the filters asfollows. The first filter 140 is used to identify media content that canbe accessed via a device at which the access is requested, based uponelectronic interface characteristics of the device. The second filter142 is used to identify media content to which the user is entitled toaccess as identified by subscription data for the user, and to generatedata that identify available media content that the device is capable ofdisplaying but for which the user does not have subscriptionentitlement. The third filter 144 is used to restrict the inclusion ofmedia content provided by content providers based uponpublisher-specified criteria defining device types upon which thepublisher's media content is not to be displayed. Using this approach, auser-specific storefront interface is generated and used to displaymedia content from a content catalog that the user's device is capableof displaying. The media content is that content which the respectivecontent providers providing the content allow to be displayed on thetype of the user's device, and which visually identifies content towhich the user has subscription entitlement and content to which theuser does not have subscription entitlement. In some implementations,this visual identification signifies different flat rate subscriptiontypes (e.g., basic and premium), each of which cover different sets ofmedia content (e.g., periodical titles). When a user selects content towhich a subscription is not active, an entitlement engine/system isinvoked to facilitate access (e.g., to assess a fee to the userrequesting access to the content). Such an entitlement system may beimplemented as an entitlement management module 170 (discussed below)with the system 100 or otherwise externally thereto (and as may beconsistent with other embodiments herein).

In certain embodiments, a reader device (e.g., at a user's tablet)includes a user interface storing library information for downloadedcontent, and inputs for selecting content a user would like to havedownloaded, and provides indication of such content using one or more ofthe filters. In some implementations, the reader device uses a filter toidentify content that is available (downloaded) at the device, presentsa delete option for removing the downloaded content, and that identifiescontent that has not been downloaded but is available via a downloadoption.

In connection with FIG. 1 and one or more embodiments, the apparatus 100also includes a fourth filter as one of one or more additional filter(s)146, which identifies media content that complies with each of thefirst, second and third filters and is stored at a user's device,relative to other media content that complies with the first, second andthird filters but is not stored at the user's device. This approach canbe used in connection with the above discussion, and presentation at areader device, and with the apparatus 100. Specifically, the storefrontformatting engine 150 generates and formats each user-specificstorefront interface by generating interface data that visuallyidentifies the first media content relative to the second media content,presents a delete option for the first media content, and presents adownload option for the second media content.

In a more particular embodiment, a fifth additional filter (at 146)identifies media content based on a user-provided search input and thatcomplies with the first, second and third filters. For instance, when auser interacts via the interface 160 to present a search request for asearch term such as “rugby,” the fifth additional filter also filtersavailable reformatted content at the archive storage 130 to generate andpresent a storefront to the user that reflects this filter (e.g., mediacontent pertaining to the term “rugby”) as well as complies with theother filters with respect to subscription, device type and publisherrequirements. This fifth additional filter may also be implemented withthe above-discussed fourth additional filter, characterizing thecontent. The storefront formatting engine 150 uses the fifth filter ingenerating and formatting the user-specific storefront interface basedon the search term.

Access is provided to a variety of different types of media content,using various embodiments as discussed herein, such as shown in FIG. 1.In some embodiments, media content data corresponds to publishedperiodical data sets (e.g., issues) each having a plurality of articledata sets (e.g., articles in each issue). Each article data setcorresponds to at least one page of media content, such as with anarticle pertaining to multiple sequential pages of media content. Blocksof reformatted media content are stored for each periodical data set andused to facilitate the delivery of stored media content to respectivedevices. In this content, subsets of blocks may be resent to respectivedevices if delivery problems occur, and can be effected in anout-of-order sequence.

In review of the above, various embodiments involving one or moreaspects as shown in FIG. 1 are implemented for formatting data accordingto display formats specific to each of the disparate content providers,for media content provided by the content providers, to comply withformatting criteria defining iterative placement of different sets ofadvertising image data with a single content image data for display viathe electronic interfaces for the plurality of disparate devices. Theiterative placement corresponds to at least one of: replacing a firstset of advertising data with a second set of advertising data in acorresponding portion of the single content image, displaying differentsets of advertising data for different instances in which the content isprovided, and displaying different sets of advertising data to differentusers accessing the same single content image and at the same locationwithin the image as displayed at the respective devices.

These approaches are carried out, for example, using periodical contenthaving a plurality of static images respectively corresponding to a pagewithin the periodical and having regions including text and regions fordisplaying advertising information. In such an embodiment, the mediacontent formatter 110 formats each static image to be displayed ondifferent devices having different display sizes and operating usingdifferent processing characteristics, with text and advertising regionsdefined by the formatting criteria for the publisher providing the mediacontent and the specific formatting type.

In some embodiments, the system 100 includes the entitlement module 170,which is responsive to user inputs requesting media content in theuser-specific storefront to which the user does not have subscriptionaccess. The entitlement module 170 generates and stores entitlement datathat is accessible by the second filter 142 and that assesses valuationdata to the user for the providing subscription access. In suchapplications, the interface module 160 is responsive to the entitlementmodule 170 by facilitating delivery of the requested media content tothe device.

One or more aspects of FIG. 1 may be carried out in connection withother figures, such as with host systems as shown and described inconnection with the presentation of media content. In addition, certainembodiments are directed to apparatuses and/or systems also includingreader device applications that interface with the apparatus 100, andrelated aspects, such as those described in the above-referenced patentapplications having Ser. No. 13/439,665 (e.g., with respect to theprovision of thumbnail-type data) and/or Ser. No. 13/415,157 (e.g., withrespect to apportioning user metrics relating to content access).

Other example embodiments, as may be implemented using one or moreapparatuses and/or systems as discussed herein, are directed to methodsfor presenting and facilitating access to media content from disparatecontent providers and in disparate formats, at user devices havingdifferent format type criteria. For instance, one or more of theabove-discussed approaches involving one or more apparatuses in FIG. 1are carried out as method-based embodiments which may be effected usingdifferent types of devices, in accordance with the other embodiments.Different types of media content from the disparate content providersare formatted into one or more common format types based upon formattingcriteria defined for each of the disparate content providers. Eachcommon formatting type corresponds to specific electronic interfacecharacteristics for one of a plurality of disparate device types viawhich the media content is to be presented in one of the common formattypes. Media content access is filtered based upon characteristics of adevice to which the access is provided, upon stored time-basedsubscription data for a user identification associated with a contentaccess request, and upon access criteria specific to each of thedisparate content providers for which the media content is provided.

For each of a multitude of users each having a unique one of the useridentifications, a user-specific storefront interface is generated usingthe first, second and third filters. Each storefront interface indicatesmedia content that is available for access by the user based uponcharacteristics of the device via which the user is to access the mediacontent, subscription data for the user and criteria set by therespective content providers for the respective media content. Theresulting storefront interface identifies media content to which theuser has subscription access and media content to which the user doesnot have subscription access.

In response to requests for accessing media content received from amultitude of disparate devices, data in the request is presented tofacilitate the identification of a user identification for each user,for filtering the media content access based upon the stored time-basedsubscription data. Data for presenting the user-specific storefrontinterface is communicated to the user device, and for user-selectionsmade via the user-specific storefront interface, stored media content isdelivered to the device.

The filters may be used, for example, as part of a system that operatesto identify data to be accessed. In some embodiments, the filters areused together to generate user-specific storefront interfaces thatdisplay media content from a content catalog that each user device iscapable of displaying, that the respective content providers providingthe content allow to be displayed on the respective types of the userdevices, and that visually identifies content (for each user/device) towhich the user has subscription entitlement and content to which theuser does not have subscription entitlement. Such visual identificationmay, for example, include highlighting or labeling image datacorresponding to a media content set that can be selected by the userfor access.

FIG. 2 shows a system 200 for presenting media content for access at amultitude of user devices, and coordinating the delivery thereof, inaccordance with one or more example embodiments. FIG. 3 shows ahigh-level overview 300 of such a system, and FIG. 4 shows a high-leveloverview of a fulfillment portion 400 of such a system. Referring toFIG. 2, a single user device 210 is shown by way of example, and towhich access is provided. A host system 220 implements variousfunctional blocks as shown, which can be provided via logic circuits andin accordance with network communications. For instance, the variousfunctional blocks are implemented as software that is executed on one ormore networked processors, or implemented on separate processorsrespectively carrying out different functions (e.g., differentprocessors on a network and/or with processors in an end device operatedby a user for accessing content). Data flow between functional blocksmay be effected in various manners as well. In addition, various aspectsof FIG. 1 may be implemented using one or more approaches as describedherein, and shown in the other figures (e.g., with corresponding aspectstherein).

The host system 220 interacts with a financial system 230 that includesa payment platform and other functions for providing payment (e.g.,software and service). This side handles payment functions such as thoseinvolving credit cards and recurring billing. Generally, payment datasuch as credit card data is passed from users directly to the financialsystem, and can be communicated without passing the information throughthe host system.

Blocks at 232 are print fulfillment houses that are accessed fordetermining a user's entitlement to access particular content. Forexample, these blocks may verify user identification data and associatea media content access level (e.g., subscription or subscriptions, orsubscription level) with the users. For example, if a user is asubscriber to a print or physical version of media content, access todigital/streaming type of versions can be granted accordingly.Similarly, if a user subscribes digitally, a communication may be sentto initiate a delivery of a print of physical version of content to theuser. The fulfillment house connector can be implemented as anabstraction layer between the host system and a fulfillment house.

A web analytics module 240 analyzes data for a variety of purposes, suchas for monitoring user access and trends, tailoring content for theuser, updating access features and feature sets, and more. The businessfinancials box monitors financial information and interacts via the ETLbox for sending information to the host system.

Different interfaces may be displayed at various user devices(represented by 210). For example, a single title reader and a discoveryapplication can be presented as part of a storefront. These twofunctions can be integrated in a common application, or providedseparately. Other views of such a reader and discovery application thatcan be implemented with these embodiments are shown in the Appendix inthe above-referenced provisional patent application. In someimplementations, the storefront, the product and offer, entitlement,pieces, are bundled up into one component. The support representative,TaM, controller and NIM Marketing components can be implementedautomatically and/or with a person interacting with the system. Thesupport rep communicates with customers/customer systems, and interactswith a case management block.

At the top left, a publisher/publisher system provides data for eachissue and title that the publisher wants to sell/provide, such ascontent data, details about the product, metadata about the product, taxinformation (e.g., where tax needs to be charged when they sellgoods/services), and offer details (e.g., prices). This can be effectedvia a publisher portal system, or directly via human interaction. Thepublisher pushes appropriate information into a database at the hostsystem, which stores different types of data pertaining to particulartypes of media content for various publishers. This approach may beimplemented, for example, in connection with a reformatting approach asdiscussed in FIG. 1.

A support portal includes an API and is configured with business logicbehind the store, which can be implemented in different manners. In oneimplementation, a boot strap server is responsive to single title typeof reader or discovery app user interface (UI) requests from astorefront, and determines what kind of UI applies to a particulardiscovery app, relative to a single title reader that is provided with adifferent type of UI.

The outbound email processing takes e-mail from the payment platform andother e-mail generated, may brand the email, and sends it to a consumer.The merchant portal provides insight into billing transactions, such ascredit card transaction information. The hosted order automation (HOA)block, which can be implemented in an integrated or stand-alone manner,facilitates the flow of certain payment information such as credit cardinformation directly from the application to a payment provider. Thefinancial system interacts with a payment gateway, that interacts withvarious financial institutions, clearing houses and so forth. Paymentsare authorized in response to information received via the paymentgateway (e.g., to verify funds). Charge backs and some failures are alsoprocessed via the gateway.

The ETL block can be implemented as a series of batch processes, andtakes all the financial transaction information out of the paymentplatform, massages it as whatever data needs, and pushes that up intothe business financials reporting engine. Reports on this data can berun and provided to publishers for either remittance or a bill.

A static image server stores static images so that the storefront, whichhas logic in it, isn't burdened by just serving.

An asset ingestion block takes in asset information and, whereappropriate, formats the asset information for access. In someimplementations, a search function is implemented off of the assetingestion block. Content is indexed, with indexing information stored inthe database to facilitate searching across content.

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus 300 for effecting catalog, pricing management,storefront, support functionality, payment platform, data warehouse, andproduct catalog functions as may be implemented in accordance with oneor more example embodiments. The apparatus 300 may be implemented, forexample, in accordance with FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or otherwise. The storefronteffectively provides a user interface type of system that facilitates auser's access at a device 310 both to media content that the user hasrights for, and to content that the user can purchase. Each publishercommunicates with a host system 320, which generates a storefront, adiscovery application and a single title store, for the display of thepresentation layer of a storefront for content provided by thepublisher. The system 300 facilitates customer interaction with customersupport.

FIG. 4 shows an apparatus and system 400, in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments, in which content access is provided at a userdevice 410 via a host system 420. An inbox is collapsed into a singlebox, with a payment platform 430 and print fulfillment block 440optionally implemented externally from the host system 420. In someimplementations, the payment platform interacts with the printfulfillment block, and in other implementations, appropriatecommunications are made via the host system.

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus 500 and approach for effecting interactionbetween components at a host system 510, a payment platform 520 and apublisher, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.Communications are facilitated to set up a publisher, to provide datafor delivering (and selling, where appropriate) content through astorefront. The publisher also provides new issues or added titles tothe store. The publisher also provides tax matrix information that thehost system uses for charging an end user an appropriate tax rate forwhat they are purchasing. This information is further used in aninteraction between a technical account manager and a tax engineer atthe payment platform, with the interactions being manual (e.g., human)and/or automated. The tax matrix is validated by a controller, such asby running sample transactions and they make sure that the taxes arebeing calculated appropriately.

When a publisher wants to add a title, such as when a publisher providestitles A, B and C, is currently using only A and B and wants to add C,the publisher provides information such as art assets and metadata aboutthe content (e.g., magazine). Art assets are things like a logo for thetitle, and metadata can include descriptive information about variousaspects of that title, and that text is displayed to the user.Accordingly, if the user is looking at a list of titles in the store,they'll see their title, in this case Title C, with a textualdescription next to it. Where applicable, codes such as magazine codesare associated with each title, with the publisher providing dataindicating what magazine code matches the title, as well as whatfulfillment house handles print fulfillment for the title.

From a digital upgrade perspective, if a publisher wants to offer adigital upgrade to a customer, the print fulfillment house is queried totest that entitlement (where print fulfillment houses are used). Thesystem identifies a title that the user is trying to get a digitalupgrade for, maps that title to a print fulfillment house and a magazinecode, and queries the appropriate print fulfillment house. Accordingly,appropriate data is provided by or extracted from publishers to suitthese functions.

The payment platform 520 is also populated upon the addition of a title,with a link formed between a product and offer and payment platform.Some portion of the product catalog is populated into the paymentplatform, as well as data for billing functions. Billing plans may beimplemented for various access/subscription types, such as for a singleissue purchase, a six-month subscription, or an annual subscription,which may involve one-time, monthly or other billing, and can furtherinvolve incentives such as price breaks for volume. Correspondingly,such subscriptions can be time-based. Further, certain approaches aredirected to the termination of a subscription, in which payments areterminated and/or refunds are provided as may be appropriate. Thesefunctions can be carried out at the payment platform. Billing plans canbe generated from offer details that come from the publisher.Accordingly, when a title is added one or more sets of data pertainingto offer details is obtained/established, such as data pertaining towhat kind of offers will be presented to users for purchasing access tocontent, with various prices associated with the content, such as thosedescribed above. When something is purchased, it is associated with abilling plan that the payment platform uses for billing. Changes inpricing, offers and other characteristics are made as they are received.

In addition to metadata and graphics that are used for certain types ofmedia content, additional information is received and used for eachparticular content item that is offered. For example, when a new issuecomes out, such as a new month's issue for a magazine, assets for thatparticular issue are obtained and used in providing the media content(e.g., preview information such as a thumbnail of the cover and/or tableof contents may be offered to entice a sale). For instance, a UI canshow covers of various magazines and, when the cover of a particularmagazine is clicked on or rolled over, the UI transitions the cover to atable of contents view. This content may be provided at the host system,or via some other system to which a link is made.

In various aspects, the host system 510 then takes on art assets, offerdetails and product details, and uses those to populate a productcatalog, rate schedule, and static UI assets. Static UI assets would beimages and other media (e.g., a short video clip). Some of the aforesaidinformation is presented to a payment platform.

FIG. 6 shows an apparatus 600 and approach for effecting reportingfunctions as may be carried out in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments. The apparatus 600 includes a host system 610 having areporting platform, which may be removed and replaced with an ETL orbatch process function to carry out communications (in and out), to pulldata from a payment platform, massage it and push it up into a businessfinancial system. Revenue reports are generated by a controller, andsent back to the publisher with either a check or a bill depending onwhich way sales go. The purchase report coming from the TAM to thepublisher may be omitted, and drawn out of a reporting platform and apublishing portal. Various data mining as shown may be carried out usingweb analytics.

FIG. 7 shows an apparatus 700 and approach for effecting entitlementfunctions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments. Theapparatus 700 includes a host 710 the provides access to a user device720 (and a multitude of such devices, e.g., implementing a discoveryapplication). The shown flow and connections are exemplary, with otherapproaches applicable. The host 710 includes storefront and entitlementcomponents as well as a database that stores entitlement data. For auser wishing to download content, the user's entitlement is verified bypresenting a query to a storefront, which checks the entitlements on itssystem via the database to determine whether the user can access thedesired content.

In various implementations, an entitlement query goes from a singletitle application, as shown, to a content delivery system anddistribution system. The single title reader is programmed to talk to aback end system for the particular content, with the content deliverysystem acting as a corresponding back end. When an application at device720 requests content for downloading (e.g., in response to a userinput), a content delivery system is queried to determine whether theuser has permission to access the content. The content delivery systemsupports an API and/or external systems to provide entitlement data,with content delivery systems of participating publishers being set upso they query the host system for entitlement data. Thus, the requestgoes from the reader to the content delivery system, and the contentdelivery system then turns around and makes the entitlement query to thehost system. The content delivery system looks up where the content isso it can be provided or cached appropriately. The content deliverysystem returns an appropriate URL to the reader so content is accessedand pulled down.

Entitlements are also parsed to display a storefront (e.g., via a mobiledevice), so that a user is able to see issues that he or she haspurchased, as well as those he or she has not purchased, or otherentitlement information. For instance, magazine issues that haven't beenpurchased can be displayed with a “buy” button, and issues that havebeen purchased can be displayed with a “download” button.

FIG. 8 shows an apparatus 800 for presentation of and interaction with astorefront for a reader device, in accordance with other exampleembodiments. The apparatus 800 facilitates interaction between a readerat a user device 810 and other components in a content system includinga host 820, using an API with various calls such as log in, log out,access requests, data for building the storefront such as a request forcurrent issues, current offer prices, back issues, and others that auser may browse. When a user navigates a storefront, analytics data isrecorded at 830 and used for tailoring the store for a user or users.

When a user goes to make a purchase, the store lets the storefront knowthat a purchase flow function is entered. The storefront communicateswith a payment platform 840 to alert the platform to incominginformation, and the payment platform returns an ID for that transactionthat's about to happen. A web form that contains that ID as a hiddenfield is created and served back to the device where it is presented tothe user entering payment information, which is submitted back to thepayment platform. The payment platform then redirects the user back tothe host server, to a URL that has been provided (e.g., one for successand one for failure). The transaction ID is used to query the paymentplatform for whether the transaction was a success or failure, on one ormore levels. An auto-bill update function may be implemented to set upand commit a particular transaction. Entitlement is carried out in amanner such as described herein, via one or more print fulfillmenthouses 850, 860 and 870 (shown by way of example).

In addition to the shown components in FIG. 8, certain embodimentsimplement a store load function as a boot strap program or server thatis first accessed by a user's device to load a storefront. The bootstrap program/server returns HTML and JavaScript back to the devicerequesting access. The HTML and JavaScript turns around and makes Ajaxcalls to the storefront.

FIG. 9 shows an apparatus 900 and approach for purchase aspects ofcontent provision, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.The apparatus 900 operates to provide media content to a user device910, via a host 920 and facilitated by a financial system 930 (internalor external). Hosted order automation/activity (HOA) module 932 sendsthe content through the form to a financial system, which can be used toalleviate the processing of financial data in the host system 920. Apayment platform module 934 communicates to the payment gateway, tofacilitate purchases.

The systems and functions shown in the Figures and described above inconnection with the figures, in the figures in the above-referencedpatent documents to which priority is claims, and otherwise can beimplemented in a variety of manners. In some implementations, shoppingsites are integrated with media delivery, to provide access to shoppingfunctions together with related media content. For instance, where afashion magazine type of media content is provided, advertising includedwith the media content can be linked to fashion-based shopping sites, orto other sites often visited by those viewing the fashion magazine.

In some implementations, media content is provided with advertisementsthat are based upon information for the user, either as obtained viausage patterns and/or via the user's profile as may be stored with ahost system. Further, this advertisement may be tailored to fit with aparticular type of media content, such as by coupling or embeddingadvertising within predefined portions of media. One such implementationis directed to the display of advertisements within a magazine that isprovided to a user via the display of an electronic device. The magazinecontents are arranged in a predefined pattern, or in a pattern setaccording to certain rules (e.g., set by the publisher for desirabledisplay of information), with other image regions reserved for displayof advertising. Advertising may be presented in these other imageregions by fitting the advertisements to available space and furtherselecting the advertisements based on one or more of the available space(e.g., and advertiser requirements), user information, user location(e.g., as obtained via a user's mobile device) and media content type.For instance, the advertising may be tailored to the user's proximity toa particular retail outlet, such as by displaying an advertisement forcoffee when the user is reading a magazine near a coffee shop.

In some implementations, advertisements presented with a particular setof media content, such as a digital magazine, are inserted by hostsystem. Advertising entities contract with the host system fordisplaying information. Media content providers may specify when, how orthe type of advertising that can be displayed. The host system uses thisinformation together with information about the user to generate anddisplay advertising in an embedded type of manner. For instance, when auser subscribes to a particular magazine, the publisher may specify amanner in which its articles are to be provided for reading by the user,with agreed-upon advertising space (e.g., standard advertising sizes andlocations, or specific locations and sizes). The host system then fillsthese advertising spaces with advertisements for the advertisingentities, charges a fee to the advertising entities and passes a portionof the fee on to the publisher.

Using this approach, the publisher is freed from any need to interactwith advertisers, and the advertisers can then access advertising needsacross different titles and different publishers. For example, if aparticular chain of restaurants is local to a single city or a limitednumber of cities, that restaurant may purchase advertising based uponuser profile information (e.g., trending) as well as geographicallocation, rather than advertise in a single title or issue. Thistrending may involve, for example, the user's use of a readerapplication as well as location history. Date and time data may also beused to further tailor advertising information, such as to advertise adaily special, a particular event, or a time-based advertisement. Inthis context, local advertising can be provided to wide-scalepublications. An advertisement processing engine implemented with thehost system can accordingly take in various data types, such as userprofiles, publisher profiles, advertiser profiles, geographicinformation and time information, process the information and provide atailored advertising package. The collective ability to advertise inmagazine space differently in different regions, for different users, atdifferent times and on different dates can be used to target advertisingmore closely to an expected use.

A more particular embodiment is directed to displaying information forproducts that are alternative products, or available from alternativesources, relative to a product as shown/advertised. For example, if anarticle is displaying goods, such as fashion or automotive goods,information regarding similar products available for purchase can beprovided to the user.

When a user accesses information, the information can be provided in oneor more of a variety of manners. For example, when a subscriber accessesa digital magazine, the access may involve downloading information on anarticle-by-article basis, to a subset of articles, to articles acrossissues, or to an entire issue or issues. Users may execute a clipfunction to save a clipped article from a particular issue on a userdevice.

Various modules may be implemented to carry out one or more of theoperations and activities described herein and/or shown in the figures.In these contexts, a “module” is a circuit that carries out one or moreof these or related operations/activities (e.g., filtering, generatinguser-specific interfaces, communicating or otherwise presenting data).For example, in certain of the above-discussed embodiments, one or moremodules are discrete logic circuits or programmable logic circuitsconfigured and arranged for implementing these operations/activities, asin the modules shown in the Figures (see, e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2). Incertain embodiments, programmable circuits or modules as discussedherein include one or more computer circuits programmed to execute a set(or sets) of instructions (and/or configuration data). The instructions(and/or configuration data) can be in the form of firmware or softwarestored in and accessible from a memory (circuit). In one example,respective modules include a combination of a CPU hardware-based circuitand a set of instructions in the form of firmware, where a first moduleincludes a first CPU hardware circuit with one set of instructions and asecond module includes a second CPU hardware circuit with another set ofinstructions. Other circuit-based applications, such as host devices andreader applications, may also be carried out using such modules orcomputer circuits.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may beexecuted by a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theseoperations/activities. Such a product may be implemented, for example,in an application-type environment operating on a user's mobile device.

Various embodiments described above, in the above patent documents towhich priority is claimed, and shown in the figures may be implementedtogether and/or in other manners. One or more of the items depicted inthe drawings/figures and/or the above-referenced patent applications towhich benefit is claimed can also be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or removed and/or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with particular applications. In viewof the description herein, those skilled in the art will recognize thatmany changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for presenting and facilitatingaccess to media content from disparate content providers and indisparate formats, at user devices having different format typecriteria, the apparatus comprising: a media content formatter configuredand arranged to format different types of the media content from thedisparate content providers into a plurality of common format typesbased upon formatting criteria defined for each of the disparate contentproviders, each common formatting type corresponding to specificelectronic interface characteristics for one of a plurality of disparatedevice types via which the media content is to be presented in one ofthe common format types; a first filter configured and arranged tofilter media content access based upon characteristics of a device towhich the access is provided; a second filter configured and arranged tofilter media content access based upon stored time-based subscriptiondata for a user identification associated with a content access request;a third filter configured and arranged to filter media content accessbased upon access criteria specific to each of the disparate contentproviders for which the media content is provided; a storefrontformatting engine configured and arranged to, for each of a multitude ofusers each having a unique one of the user identifications, generate andformat a user-specific storefront interface using the first, second andthird filters, each storefront interface indicating media content thatis available for access by the user based upon: characteristics of thedevice via which the user is to access the media content, subscriptiondata for the user and criteria set by the respective content providersfor the respective media content, the storefront interface identifyingmedia content to which the user has subscription access and mediacontent to which the user does not have subscription access; and aninterface module configured and arranged to respond to requests foraccessing media content received from a multitude of disparate devices,present data in the request to facilitate the presentation of a useridentification for each user, to the second filter, for each of themultitude of disparate devices, communicate data for presenting theuser-specific storefront interface generated at the formatting enginefor the specific device and the specific user identification of the userof the device, and for user-selections made via the user-specificstorefront interface, facilitate the delivery of stored media content tothe device via which the user-specific storefront interface is provided.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media content formatter isconfigured and arranged to format data according to display formatsspecific to each of the disparate content providers, for media contentprovided by the content providers, to comply with formatting criteriadefining placement of advertising image data with content image data fordisplay via the electronic interfaces for the plurality of disparatedevices.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the formatting engine isconfigured and arranged to generate and format each user-specificstorefront interface by using the first filter to identify media contentthat can be accessed via a device at which the access is requested,based upon electronic interface characteristics of the device, using thesecond filter to identify media content to which the user is entitled toaccess as identified by subscription data for the user, and to generatedata that identify available media content that the device is capable ofdisplaying but for which the user does not have subscriptionentitlement, using the third filter to restrict the inclusion of mediacontent provided by content providers based upon publisher-specifiedcriteria defining device types upon which the publisher's media contentis not to be displayed, and therein generating a user-specificstorefront interface that displays media content from a content catalogthat the user's device is capable of displaying, that the respectivecontent providers providing the content allow to be displayed on thetype of the user's device, and that visually identifies content to whichthe user has subscription entitlement and content to which the user doesnot have subscription entitlement.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, furtherincluding a fourth filter configured and arranged to identify firstmedia content that complies with each of the first, second and thirdfilters and is stored at the user's device, relative to second mediacontent that complies with the first, second and third filters and isnot stored at the user's device, and wherein the formatting engine isconfigured and arranged to generate and format each user-specificstorefront interface by generating interface data that visuallyidentifies the first media content relative to the second media content,presents a delete option for the first media content, and presents adownload option for the second media content.
 5. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the formatting engine is configured and arranged to generateand format a user-specific storefront interface using the first filterto identify media content that can be accessed via a device at which theaccess is requested.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the formattingengine is configured and arranged to generate and format a user-specificstorefront interface using the second filter to identify media contentto which the user is entitled to access, and to differently identifyavailable media content that the user has not been entitled to access.7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the formatting engine is configuredand arranged to generate and format a user-specific storefront interfaceusing the third filter to restrict the inclusion of media contentprovided by content providers, based upon publisher-specified criteriadefining device types upon which the publisher's media content is to bedisplayed.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a fourthfilter configured and arranged to identify first media content thatcomplies with each of the first, second and third filters and is storedat the user's device, relative to second media content that complieswith the first, second and third filters and is not stored at the user'sdevice, and wherein the formatting engine is configured and arranged togenerate and format each user-specific storefront interface bygenerating interface data, using the fourth filter, that visuallyidentifies the first media content relative to the second media content,presents a delete option for the first media content, and presents adownload option for the second media content.
 9. The apparatus of claim8, further including a fifth filter configured and arranged to identifymedia content based on a user-provided search input and that complieswith the first, second and third filters, and wherein the formattingengine is configured and arranged to generate and format eachuser-specific storefront interface by generating interface data usingthe fifth filter.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further including afourth filter configured and arranged to identify media content based ona user-provided search input and that complies with the first, secondand third filters, and wherein the formatting engine is configured andarranged to generate and format each user-specific storefront interfaceby generating interface data using the fourth filter.
 11. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the media content formatter is configured andarranged to format media content data corresponding to publishedperiodical data sets each having a plurality of article data sets, eacharticle data set corresponding to at least one page of media content andin which at least one article data set corresponds to multiplesequential pages of media content, the media content formatter beingconfigured and arranged to format and store a plurality of blocks ofmedia content data for each periodical data set, and the interfacemodule is configured and arranged to facilitate the delivery of storedmedia content to the device by delivering the blocks of data for aperiodical data set and, for each block of data that are not confirmedas being properly received at the device, re-send the block.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the media content formatter is configuredand arranged to format data according to display formats specific toeach of the disparate content providers, for media content provided bythe content providers, to comply with formatting criteria definingiterative placement of different sets of advertising image data with asingle content image data for display via the electronic interfaces forthe plurality of disparate devices, the iterative placementcorresponding to at least one of: replacing a first set of advertisingdata with a second set of advertising data in a corresponding portion ofthe single content image, displaying different sets of advertising datafor different instances in which the content is provided, and displayingdifferent sets of advertising data to different users accessing the samesingle content image and at the same location within the image asdisplayed at the respective devices.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the media content includes periodical content having a pluralityof static images respectively corresponding to a page within theperiodical and having regions including text and regions for displayingadvertising information, and wherein the media content formatter isconfigured and arranged to format each static image to be displayed ondifferent devices having different display sizes and operating usingdifferent processing characteristics, with text and advertising regionsdefined by the formatting criteria for a publisher providing the mediacontent and the specific formatting type.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the media content formatter is configured and arranged to formatthe different types of the media content by transcoding, for each of theplurality of disparate device types, at least one of text data, imagedata, audio data and video data into a format amenable for processing bythe specific device type.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, furtherincluding a computer-based circuit having respective modules configuredand arranged to carry out the functions.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1,further including an entitlement module configured and arranged to, inresponse to user inputs requesting media content in the user-specificstorefront to which the user does not have subscription access, generateand store entitlement data that is accessible by the second filter andthat assesses valuation data to the user for the providing subscriptionaccess, and wherein the interface module is responsive to theentitlement module by facilitating delivery of the requested mediacontent to the device.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the secondfilter is configured and arranged to access external time-basedsubscription data and synchronize the stored time-based subscriptiondata with the external time-based subscription data.
 18. The apparatusof claim 1, further including a reader application module at each of thedevices and configured and arranged to communicate with the storefrontinterface for providing user input and for receiving and displaying theuser-specific storefront interface.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1,further including a computer-based host system configured and arrangedto facilitate cross-platform access to the media content using thefilters and storefront formatting engine, in which each of the disparatedevice types operates one of the respective platforms.
 20. A method forpresenting and facilitating access to media content from disparatecontent providers and in disparate formats, at user devices havingdifferent format type criteria, the method comprising: formattingdifferent types of the media content from the disparate contentproviders into a plurality of common format types based upon formattingcriteria defined for each of the disparate content providers, eachcommon formatting type corresponding to specific electronic interfacecharacteristics for one of a plurality of disparate device types viawhich the media content is to be presented in one of the common formattypes; filtering media content access based upon characteristics of adevice to which the access is provided; filtering media content accessbased upon stored time-based subscription data for a user identificationassociated with a content access request; filtering media content accessbased upon access criteria specific to each of the disparate contentproviders for which the media content is provided; for each of amultitude of users each having a unique one of the user identifications,generating and formatting a user-specific storefront interface usingfirst, second and third filters, each storefront interface indicatingmedia content that is available for access by the user based upon:characteristics of the device via which the user is to access the mediacontent, subscription data for the user and criteria set by therespective content providers for the respective media content, thestorefront interface identifying media content to which the user hassubscription access and media content to which the user does not havesubscription access; responding to requests for accessing media contentreceived from a multitude of disparate devices by presenting data in therequest to facilitate the presentation of a user identification for eachuser, for filtering the media content access based upon the storedtime-based subscription data, communicating data for presenting theuser-specific storefront interface generated at a formatting engine forthe specific device and the specific user identification of the user ofthe device, and for user-selections made via the user-specificstorefront interface, facilitating the delivery of stored media contentto the device via which the user-specific storefront interface isprovided.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein generating and formattingeach user-specific storefront interface includes using a first filter toidentify media content that can be accessed via a device at which theaccess is requested, based upon electronic interface characteristics ofthe device, using a second filter to identify media content to which theuser is entitled to access as identified by subscription data for theuser, and to generate data that identify available media content thatthe device is capable of displaying but for which the user does not havesubscription entitlement, using a third filter to restrict the inclusionof media content provided by content providers based uponpublisher-specified criteria defining device types upon which thepublisher's media content is not to be displayed, and therein generatinga user-specific storefront interface that displays media content from acontent catalog that the user's device is capable of displaying, thatthe respective content providers providing the content allow to bedisplayed on the type of the user's device, and that visually identifiescontent to which the user has subscription entitlement and content towhich the user does not have subscription entitlement.
 22. The method ofclaim 21, further including identifying first media content thatcomplies with said filtering steps and is stored at the user's device,relative to second media content that complies with said filtering stepsand is not stored at the user's device, and wherein the generating andformatting each user-specific storefront interface includes generatinginterface data that visually identifies the first media content relativeto the second media content, presents a delete option for the firstmedia content, and presents a download option for the second mediacontent.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein generating and formattingthe user-specific storefront interface includes identifying mediacontent that can be accessed via a device at which the access isrequested.
 24. The method of claim 20, wherein generating and formattingthe user-specific storefront interface includes identifying mediacontent to which the user is entitled to access, and differentlyidentifying available media content that the user has not been entitledto access.
 25. The method of claim 20, wherein generating and formattingthe user-specific storefront interface includes restricting theinclusion of media content provided by content providers, based uponpublisher-specified criteria defining device types upon which thepublisher's media content is to be displayed.
 26. The method of claim20, further including identifying media content based on a user-providedsearch input and that complies with said filtering steps, whereingenerating and formatting the user-specific storefront interfaceincludes presenting said identified media content.
 27. The method ofclaim 20, further including identifying media content based on auser-provided search input and that complies with said filtering steps,wherein generating and formatting the user-specific storefront interfaceincludes presenting said identified media content.
 28. An apparatuscomprising a plurality of modules executable to carry out respectiveoperations and activities for presenting and facilitating access tomedia content for disparate publishers and in disparate formats, at userdevices having different format type criteria, the apparatus comprising:a filtering module configured and arranged to filter media contentaccess for each user requesting access via one of the user devices,based upon characteristics of the device to which the access isprovided, upon time-based subscription data for a user identificationassociated with a content access request, and upon criteria specific toeach of the disparate publishers on behalf of which the media content isprovided, and in response thereto generate filter data identifying mediacontent that can be presented at each of the respective user devices; astorefront interface module configured and arranged to generate auser-specific storefront interface for each of a multitude of users eachhaving a user identification, based upon the generated filter data forthat user identification, each storefront interface indicating mediacontent that can be displayed at the device to which access isrequested, and identifying media content to which the user hassubscription access and media content to which the user does not havesubscription access; a communication module configured and arranged tocommunicate data to each user device for presenting the user-specificstorefront interfaces thereat, and to respond to user-selections madevia the user-specific storefront interface by facilitating the deliveryof stored media content to the device via which the user-specificstorefront interface is provided, and a content formatting moduleconfigured and arranged to format different types of the media contentfrom the disparate content providers into a plurality of common formattypes based upon formatting criteria defined for each of the disparatecontent providers, each common formatting type corresponding to specificelectronic interface characteristics for one of a plurality of disparatedevice types via which the media content is to be presented in one ofthe common format types, wherein the communication module communicatesdata to each user device using the formatted media content in a commonformat type associated with the electronic interface characteristics forthe device to which the media content access is facilitated.